Wednesday Night Live, is an initiative which was derived from Sheffield’s Economic Masterplan to drive footfall in the city centre after 6pm. The results have been excellent.
The initiative, which began on 4 June 2009, has involved over fifty businesses, and has seen shops open late, street theatre, special offers in bars and restaurants, free car parking at John Lewis between 6pm and 8pm, the Winter Garden open until 9pm, Vivienne Westwood: The Exhibition open until 9pm, live music, charity events, entertainment and much more.
Looking back at the success of the initiative, Wednesday evening footfall figures recorded on Fargate show an average increase of an astounding 77% on last year, 31% on 2006 and 67% on 2005. Moreover, M&S, who are now trading until 7pm every Wednesday, has seen the extra hour return 95% as much as the takings in the 9 – 10am period, with 70% of the extra sales being non-food products.
Brian Littlejohn, Store Manager at M&S, commented on the success of Wednesday Night Live: “Late night trading has been such a big success that M&S and other major retailers will continue to trade until 7pm every Wednesday.”
Malcolm Schooling, Co-Owner of Platillos and the Wig & Pen, said: “We have seen a significant increase in turnover due to the extra people in the city.”
